The Sickness of America

Very rarely do I post about things like this. Very rarely am I so bothered that I have to use my personal journal to write about current events that don’t actually include me in the story (the abduction of Kelsey Smith comes to mind… in the blog post Do Unto Others, posted June 9, 2007). I certainly make it a point to avoid political debate on my blog. But sometimes, current events stir something up.

A couple of months ago, this became the rumor of the day. Now, it’s official. The talk of the town(s).

Bear in mind, in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. As such, I am not blasting this woman like everyone else around may or may not be. And I’m certainly not slandering anyone here. I am speaking in broad terms…

But it is extra outrageous when it happens in your own county. Usually this is the sort of scam you hear about in some distant part of the Midwest, not involving people you know. And Cathy Gieseker is fairly well-known around these parts. Last year, her husband died of cancer, and now she’s been more or less exposed for this thing. Well, I’m not condemning anyone, and I haven’t walked a mile in anyone else’s shoes, so calm down there. I’m not jumping to conclusions, slandering, or judging anyone. Again, I am speaking in broad terms…

So…

My take on it is this: be a patriot. For God’s sake, be a good American. It’s outrageous! Our nation’s economy is in serious need of fixing, and there are people out there willing to further screw over their friends and neighbors. It’s exactly that sort of obscene greed that we need to fight if we are going to make anything better in this country.

Some people would have you believe that the blight of this nation, the cause of our troubles, is unchecked homosexuality. Others would have you believe it’s having a supposedly non-Christian, Democratic president. Still others say it’s the very existence of Republicans that are driving us into the ground. No. It’s quite simply that power corrupts, and greed is exponentially self-perpetuating. And some people, when they think they can get away with it, do bad things to get more money at the expense of others. Sometimes those people run entire companies and exploit loopholes in the Constitution. Sometimes it’s a local businessperson with no ethics or morals, perhaps someone who has gradually insulated themselves through equivocation and rationalization, circumventing their consciences (those pesky things) in order to empower themselves to do whatever they can because they feel they deserve more.

Opportunistic, dishonest, greedy people who care nothing of the greater good. People who are only decent human beings when they’re being seen doing so. People who think they can sneak their own, bigger piece of the pie while the getting’s good, before the country gets fixed. This is the kind of story that truly makes me feel sick.

Hypothetically.